Head-spinning! ((Friends))

[dana]

((Sapph saved Dana from bleeding outside, but anyone can come to visit her here. This is a continuation from this thread. Enjoy!))


Dana was what you could call a diplomat. She was cool, collected, did have a sharp tongue, but could easily control it and took care to always appear at her best. Yet today that Dana was nowhere to be sighted. In her place was the childish, random, mischievous and just a bit wicked Dana. Her hair had been piled up in messy ringlets with a few strands having already gotten loose and fallen down to frame her face. The tousled hair and completely make-up free face seemed to take a little from Dana’s age away from her. Even though Dana’s comfort clothes – an old black sweater which was obviously too big for her, as it was stolen from Kris’s wardrobe at some point, tights that reached her knees and striped toe-stockings – didn’t do much to make her appear anymore sophisticated.

But right now Dana was not happy. Oh no, not at all. She hated being sick. Hated-hated-hated! And as she had been condemned to stay at least until tomorrow in the Hospital Wing as she actually WAS sick, then all this together was enough to make Dana want to throw a fit. A true temper tantrum. Hey, Dana was a rich brat after all. And she had had more than a fair share of temper tantrums and fits as a kid. Maybe her usually cool character was now somewhat of a payback for the behavior of the child who made nannies flee screaming. Her eyes snapping over Dana grinned. A grin rarely seen on her face, because it took quite something to get her into this mood. Obviously whatever medicine madam P had poured down her throat had had the same effect on the 6th year Ravenclaw as chocolate always seemed to have. One of the reasons why Dana didn’t really eat chocolate. And maybe – just MAYBE – her high fever played some part of her mood as well. Even if Dana herself refused to believe it.

Her eyes shifted around the room with much less stealth than Dana would have preferred to believe. Seeing that madam P had left the Hospital Wing Dana let out a whoop of and tossing the blanket that had been covering her to the side jumped to her feet on the bed. Grinning widely Dana bounced on the bed for a couple of times before jumping onto the floor as she heard the creak of the Hospital Wing door opening. “Got you!” Launching her whole weight at whoever had entered – was it a professor or not – Dana grinned victoriously as she tackled the person to the ground. Rolling to sit next to the person Dana pulled her knees up to her chest as she buried her face between her knees giggling. She hadn’t felt this giddy since… well, she hadn’t felt giddy since the last time she was medicated and forced to eat a big bar of chocolate. Which was something her grand-parents had very careful avoided ever since Dana was 14 and went through a similar phase.

[Meyghan Gallagher R7]

Meyghan had heard that the Ravenclaw prefect had been taken to the hospital wing. This made Meyghan very distraught. She thought of Dana as a good friend, and wondered what could possibly be wrong with the very kept together girl. Meyghan wanted to find Dana a get well gift, so she dug through her trunk.

Meyghan was weird in the way that she always kept spare gifts in her trunk, just in case anyone got sick. This was a good reason why, and a wonderful example. Where most would have to wait until they could go into Hogsmeade, Meyghan just simply had to open her trunk. Digging through the trunk looking for just the right bear, Meyghan came along a medium size velvety, plush bear that was sea foam green with a little wave over the area where it's heart would be if it were real. Meyghan decided that it would be the perfect bear for Dana, and took it out of the trunk. Gathering the bear with a couple of bottles of butterbeer that she had saved from her last Hogsmeade visit, Meyghan made her way out of the common room and into the castle.

Meyghan listened to the click clack of her shoes as she hurried her way to the hospital wing. She couldn't help but to think that there might be something seriously wrong with her friend. She passed a commotion in the halls, but paid it no attention. She figured it could just be some Slytherin picking on some poor defenseless first year. Keeping her eyes where she was going, Meyghan finally saw her destination.

Walking into the Hospital Wing, Meyghan hid the drinks and the bear behind her back, hoping to surprise her friend. Suddenly Meyghan dropped the bottles as she heard someone yell. Trying to catch the person that had just launched them self at her, Meyghan fell to the floor laughing. Looking to see who had tackled her, she realized that it was Dana. Giggling, Meyghan pulled herself to her feet, and offered Dana the same help. Picking the bear up off the floor, and repairing the bottles that she had dropped, Meyghan looked at her friend. She had never seen Dana act this way. Handing Dana the bear, Meyghan finally spoke, "How are you feeling? What happened?" Meyghan couldn't help but to act shocked.

[dana]

Dana was curled up and giggling happily her eyes glittering as she heard the bit shocked laughter of whoever she had just maimed. It had been shockingly fun. Not something usually done but Dana didn’t want to be just an other face in the dark-grey crowd anyway. So while her some habits and demands sometimes made others laugh at her… She was also known among her friends for them. It was something special. Something so her. That was part of what kept her sane, part of what made her get up from her bed every morning and carry on with the day as good or bad as she was able to. Finally raising her head from her knees Dana giggled at Meyghan’s still shocked face and waved at her slightly with both of her hands. “TEDDY!” Dana cried out happily jumping to her feet and grabbing the plushie from Meyghan’s hands, happily nuzzling her nose into the toy’s neck.

Dana giggled bouncing over to the nearest bed in the hospital wing and happily letting herself drop to sit on it. Actually Dana didn’t sit, opting to rather roll over her back and landing on the floor on the other side of the bed doing a sort of backwards somersault. She had always liked acrobatics. Growing up with Kris Dana had also had her fair share of experience at being a tom-boy. Why, she could still climb a rope or a tree in a matter of moments still. But then again dressing up and playing with dolls had been fun as well. Dana and Kris most often still let themselves get lost among the youngest generation – 3-7 year olds – at their family-tree reunions they were forced to meet. Kris was even better at handling all the kids than Dana was. He would make an awesome father one day.

Finding that with the tumble over the bed Meyghan had disappeared from her view. Dana’s lower lip was pushed out in a childish sulk as she crawled underneath the bed back to the other side the teddy-bear tightly clutched under her left arm. Her lips immediately shifting from their sulk to a wide grin Dana climbed back onto the bed kneeling down there her head tilted briefly so only she was looking at Meyghan from the left side of the teddy-bears head. “Have you ever flown, Meyghan? Really actually flown? Abandoned all worries and flown with fairies as they dance in the morning dew while the first sun rays make the world glint with an almost holy glow that you are part of? Flown to dance above the stars with someone you love?” Dana asked with a bit dreamy smile as she stared into the window and the sun that behind that.

[Sapphire Phoenix R7]

Sapphire stared blankly at the wall of her dormitory, her legs crossed and her hands resting calmly on her knees. She wasn't meditating, though her look was entirely serious. She was doing her best to suppress a surge of confused and slightly hurt feelings which were welling up inside her. She didn't know exactly where they were all coming from, what their source was. It had all been prompted when she'd been dealing with Dana in such an irrational state. She got accustomed to things being certain ways and then expected them to stay that way in essence. Maybe she'd got the essence wrong. She pulled out a small photo album she always kept with her and leafed through to the front. Her mum and her dad, together. What would happen if everything was clear from the start? Would it stop hurt? If her dad had just been truthful with her mum - well, not missed an important factor out - would that not have stopped his hurt at being inadequate for the woman he loved merely because he was a wizard? It would probably have meant Sapphire and Zara never came into existence but... it would have saved that hurt.

Why did things turn out the way they did anyway? Sapphire turned the pages of the album slowly, as Zara and herself grew up in front of her. Her gaze penetrated slightly beyond the photos - she was thinking, but her thoughts were not trivial, or particularly happy. They weren't unhappy... they were... searching. Sapphire could feel all the symptoms of being upset which she hadn't felt properly in a long time, but yet there was no proper reason for it. She was in a bad mood too. There was little explaining any of it. Dana was in the Hospital Wing now - she should be safe. Sapphire had managed to get her there, with the help of of Featherweight Charm to help her move Dana without having to worry about the weight too much. It had been quite a long way to go. Madam Pomfrey had sent Sapphire away to go and get warm. Sapphire had come up here. She didn't feel like talking to anyone. Had she done things right? She wasn't prepared to dwell on it, but no happy thoughts, no, not even any cynical thoughts would come to her mind.

She had adjusted her gaze to stare at the wall again, and now that wall was staring back at her with unblinking eyes. Sapphire glared. She would never understand why whoever it was that arranged these things had decided to put a portrait of an old man in a girls' dormitory anyway. It shouldn't be. He was nosy, and indiscrete. A nightmare. Had Sapphire been one for being noisily assertive, she would've launched an outspoken campaign bothering those in charge until they removed the pain that was 'The Senex'. As it was, she waged her own private war against him which she didn't think anyone else was aware of. Perhaps they were carrying one on with him themselves. Were portraits immortal?, Sapphire wondered to herself. She certainly hoped not. The paint should degrade eventually... she hoped no one would make the effort to restore the painting.

"It's not polite to stare," the old man stated, his eyes bulging slightly and his breathing becoming more laboured as this statement seemed to be too much of an effort. Well then, he shouldn't have made it. He was hardly being pleasant. "Oh, shut up." Sapphire said, uncharacteristically irritable. She muttered and the flannel she had on her bedside table flew over, slapping the portrait as it smacked into it and stuck there. Sapphire looked at the flannel thoughtfully. She'd had enough of flannels too. "Young people these days, well really." the portrait protested indignantly. "No manners." The flannel flew back off the portrait and Sapphire stood up, folding it and putting away the wand which had summoned it. "Old people just don't understand young people anymore." Sapphire told him. The Senex gave a harrumph and sidled off, wheezing, to find someone else to annoy. Sapphire watched him go with contempt that did not lessen, and then set off herself to the Hospital Wing. Her journey passed uneventfully. People were carrying on their normal lives, and that was fine. She just didn't feel like immersing herself in everyday things right now. She wanted some time to contemplate. But she still ought to go and see how Dana was.

That soon became evident as Sapphire approached the Hospital Wing. It didn't sound like Madam Pomfrey was there. Dana also didn't sound much less delirious. Sapphire felt slightly ashamed of her previous actions towards The Senex as she saw Meyghan standing there. Usually her loathing was kept fairly much to herself, although the portrait knew she didn't like him. But she didn't feel herself today. She wasn't the usual engaged self. Nothing would induce her to envelop herself in an intellectual task today. She was... distracted. Sapphire smiled thinly at Dana and offered a book she'd brought from the library to her.
"I thought you might want some reading... you're going to be here a while knowing Madam Pomfrey. If I don't scoot she'll probably put me in here for 'trauma'... so you might have some company because I'm staying." Sapphire said, sitting down on the edge of a neighbouring bed that was unoccupied. "But I reckoned a little tuition in how to craft things with knives might be of use." Sapphire looked at Dana seriously. Her pentrating stare hadn't gone away, but now she just looked thoughtful and as though her mind was elsewhere. It was. It was contemplating life, the universe, and everything. All with a slightly pessimistic viewpoint.

(('Senex' means 'old man' in Latin. I've used it as the title of a portrait in this case. And I'm sorry it's not the best post... but I wanted to post. I'm just still... not at ease at all.))

[Meyghan Gallagher R7]

Meyghan sat on the edge of a bed, and watched Dana, hoping that she wouldn't hurt herself more than she already apparently had. She couldn't help but laugh, for the Dana she was seeing now was not the Dana she had first met or come to know. This was a different side of Dana, almost as if she was six or seven years old again. She worried about her friend, but she didn't want to show it.

As Dana asked the question about flying, it made Meyghan think. She couldn't recall ever really feeling like she was flying above the stars. She had always wanted to feel that way, but had yet to do so. She wasn't sure how to answer Dana's question. "I don't think I have, Dana." she decided on the simple answer. It was the best thing to do. Hearing the door creaking slightly, Meyghan turned to see Sapphire. "Hello." she said politely. She smiled at her dormmate, and sat silently.

Even though Meyghan had answered Dana, she continued to ponder the question that had been asked. She wondered if that was the best answer she could have come up with, and if there was nothing more to be said on the subject.

[dana]

Dana grinned at the teddy-bear Meyghan had brought her and in a truly kid-like thought raised the teddy-bear to her mouth. Whispering a secret into the bear’s ear than eyed the bear curiously for a few moments the only thing showing the twinge of disappointment when the bear didn’t come alive on it’s own a slight curl of her lip. For a few moments Dana’s lip quivered as she tried to decide whether she should cry or not. Crying always got everyone moving and trying to comfort and dry her tears. Maybe the would be enough to make the teddy-bear come to life too? Or at least make someone quietly cast a spell that would make it seem as if the teddy-bear was alive. Dana would have accepted both chances. But on the negative side crying would have most certainly made her eyes red and puffy. Besides she couldn’t cry like the heroines in Hollywood movies did. When Dana cried, then it meant that her make-up was ruined, her nose turned red and she had to constantly sniffle which in itself was not a becoming thing at all. Who knows, someone cute might still come to visit her and Dana didn’t want to look anything but the very best. Being vain was awesome!

After a few moments of pondering Dana decided against crying. Or maybe her thoughts were just pointed in an other direction before she even could start crying. The teddy tucked safely under her arm Dana uncurled her legs and jumped to her feet. “A book? For ME? Does it have fairy’s in it? Or tales about fairies?” Dana demanded happily snatching the book from between Sapph’s answer and opening it from a random page. Finding a picture, even as it was small and black-and-white, Dana grinned happily accepting the book as worth-while. Prancing over to the bed madam P had stationed her in Dana grabbed her pillows and placed one against the headboard of the bed. Making sure the pillow was fluffy and would stay in place Dana put the bear to sit against the pillow and placed the other pillow before the bear, leaving the open book before the teddy-bear.
“There. Now they’re all happy. And later on when I’m too tired to read Miša may retell me for a bed-time story about what the book said!” Dana exclaimed happily bounding away from her bed yet again her energy resources in all reality overflowing.

Dana smiled under Sapph’s penetrating stare that was pointed towards her. In some part of her brain Dana understood that her behavior was irrational. But that part of her brain was very far away and therefore being fully ignored. Today Dana just wanted to give into her urges and act the way she wanted. She wouldn’t hurt anyone with it, so why not? Dana grinned and winked at Sapph happily: “Yes! You stay here! We can tell ghost-stories under our blankets late in night. And then go and run through Peeves.” Twirling around Dana tugged lightly on Meyghan’s braid as well: “And you stay too, Meyghan. Then you can hear the ghost-stories too! And stories about dentists who will come and pull all your teeth out without anesthetic if you don’t promise to never eat sweets again! And then afterwards we can go flying! We’ll fly up where dreams begin and dance there over stars!” Dana smiled dreamingly as she danced something that was a mixture of slow waltz and salsa with an imaginative partner.

[Sapphire Phoenix R7]

Sapphire kept her gaze on Dana for a while, following the other girl's movements around the room before she met Meyghan's eyes. She sighed slightly and clasped her hands together comfortably in her lap as she lowered her eyes again and waited for Dana to repent of her antics slightly. Sapphire tapped her index finger against her other hand as she inspected her manicured but unpainted nails without any hint of interest. Nails weren't the most interesting thing either, but she might start to see why Cleo did this all the time if Dana went on much longer. Sapphire smiled slightly at the thought and felt a little better immediately. She could feel the normal her returning, even if only tentatively. She looked back up to Dana who was currently spinning around the room and molesting poor Meyghan and used her wand to make the scholarly teddy bear now perusing the finer details of crafting turn over a page of the book with its paw.

"All right, I'll stay." Sapphire yielded easily, noting to herself it would at least be out of the domain of The Senex even if Madam Pomfrey was arguably no better and quite possibly worse, adding, "And no doubt Meyghan won't be feeling too good soon either, the way you're carrying on." Sapphire sought Dana's eyes - even though the other girl's attention span at that moment in time was short it was still possible - and attempted to convey a non-verbal apology for the way those words had come out. Sharper than intended. That was how most of her expression was coming out right now. Sharper and less subtle than she would have liked. Well, Dana could choose to take offence if she would but it would be a conscious decision at any rate. And Sapphire wasn't particularly worried about that. She gave Meyghan a smile; the other Ravenclaw still seemed quite quiet.

"Sit." Sapphire said as she stood up and took hold of Dana's hand, twirling her around once since the other girl's previous movement demanded that, but in the direction of her bed, where she deposited her rather firmly and sat down next to her, the teddy bear turning another page of the book at the same time as she used the charm to try to dispel some of her bad mood. "Please. You make me tired with all this energy. We haven't all had the chance to sleep." Sapphire regarded Dana seriously for a moment, pondering the events of earlier on that day. She had been a bit scared for her friend for a while, and that had hardly helped put her in a good mood. But Dana was still irrational. It looked like it was necessary to deal with that dilemma a while longer.

"Sit still," Sapphire told Dana who was most likely about to start bouncing on the comfortable mattress or something of the sort. She felt in her pocket for a smooth, hard stone she'd put in there earlier on in the day on her short-lived walk and brought it out, curling her fingers around it as it lay in her palm. The cool lump was somehow slightly comforting. A moment later it had been transfigured into the handle and head of a hairbrush, still heavy stone since she hadn't the inclination to make it anything else. She used another transfiguring charm to add metal bristles with rounded ends that wouldn't hurt too much and ran her fingers over those to check it had worked out as she intended. It had, and at least now something could be done about Dana's less than presentable hair, Sapphire reflected with some satisfaction as she loosened the hair which still remained in the ringlets and started to methodically straighten out the tangles using a mixture of the hairbrush and where necessary her fingers.

"What do you reckon we should do with it, Meyghan?" she asked in an attempt to involve her dormmate who had thus far been rather quiet, her question referring to Dana's hair as that was where her gaze remained as the question was asked. Sapphire didn't really want to have to entertain Dana on her own considering she already felt a little odd in temperament today and the older Ravenclaw wasn't much helping it. "Colourful bobbles? Hair clips - large or small? Scrunchy? Headband? Hair straight or curly? If you're to dance over the stars you need to be properly turned out for it Dana," Sapphire added, inwardly sighing to herself but outwardly only tucking her legs underneath one another so she was sitting completely on Dana's bed. That was more comfortable and she needed that since considering the number of tangles in this hair she'd be here a while.

[Meyghan Gallagher R7]

Meyghan had just began to realize that she had hurt herself in the tackle from Dana. She didn't think that it was serious enough to call Madame Pomfrey back into the room, but she did feel too stiff to go back to the tower. "Of course I'll stay Dana. I could never leave a friend." Meyghan said smiling. This would be an adventure to say the least. Meyghan wasn't sure how to take Dana's irrational behavior except just to play along. She didn't have the full story of what had happened, and was just concerned about her friend.

Once she had gotten settled, she was prepared for the night ahead. She grinned as Sapphire transfigured something into a brush and proceeded to try to decide what to do with Dana's hair. "Well, If we are all going to be dancing over the stars, wouldn't colorful bobbles be the most appropriate." Meyghan said, realizing how glad she was to be a friend of both Dana and Sapphire. It made her feel a bit better about herself, which at the moment she had began to feel rather insecure.

Meyghan had always thought Dana to be the type to maintain her calmness no matter what happened, and to see that even someone as strong willed as Dana could lose control just a bit worried Meyghan. It made her feel as if it could happen to everyone, and that included her. Meyghan was already known to babble on about things when nervous. She minded what she said making sure not to show that she was worried.

[dana]

Dana continued dancing when Sapph caught her hands and after twirling her steered Dana rather decisively to the bed madam P had chosen to deposit Dana in. Dana bounced and was about to jump up form the bed again when Sapph let go of her hand only to be bounced back again as Sapph still had hold of her hair. Even through the haze of the high fever that hadn’t completely retreated even despite madam P’s potion Dana still held onto who she was. And vanity was a big part of her. She would still need her hair so jumping away and loosing a fistful of them wouldn’t be pleasant. Dana pouted towards Meyghan in a sure plan of somehow using her to escape when Dana suddenly felt a comb slipping through her hair. Sapph was combing her hair. Her hair was being combed! Her hair was being combed! Dana let out a low sound from the back of her throat as she always melted deeper onto the mattress of the bed letting out a content sigh. If Dana was a cat then right now she would be purring.

“Flowers, I want flowers in my hair,” Dana murmured throatily as she curled herself up in a ball and laid herself down on the bed while her hair was spread out around her head wile Sapph was combing them. It always calmed Dana when someone else was working on her hair. She herself wasn’t a big fan of that work. Dana could pick out outfits and fitting accessories, even paint nails if provoked enough and do make-up. But she was no good when it came to hair.

((Not the best post, I know. But nothing came to me and Dana has changed a bit since that fever.))